Take the free Mathsaurus online course – Prepare for the Primary Maths Challenge and work through questions from two full papers with me!
The Primary Maths Challenge, aimed at students in Years 5 and 6 (England and Wales, P6 and P7 Scotland, Years 6 and 7 Northern Ireland) has two rounds. For more information see below or visit the official Primary Maths Challenge website.
The main round: This papers is sat (in November) by a large number of students and the papers are marked by their own school. Schools ordering 10 papers get 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze certificates and so there are no official grade boundaries for this paper. Whether a student gets a certificate will just depend on how well other students in their own school do. Note: there is now also a First Maths Challenge for students in younger years.
The bonus round: Schools send the main round scores to the Primary Maths Challenge and the best scoring students are invited to take place in the Bonus Round (in February). In this round the awards are decided by the PMC organisers and grade boundaries for some recent years are listed in the table at the bottom of this page. Note, the sample size is relatively small for this paper so the boundaries should only be taken as a rough guide as to how well a student has done.
11+ Preparation course: I am in the process of creating an 11+ maths preparation course that is ideal for students at the Primary Maths Challenge age, whether or not they are applying for competitive entry examinations. Indeed it could also be good preparation for the Primary Maths Challenge!
Junior Maths Challenge: Able Year 6 (P7 Scotland, year 7 NI) students sometimes also enter for the Junior Maths Challenge, or otherwise take this in Years 7 and 8. When you are ready to move on from the Primary to the Junior Maths Challenge, take the free Mathsaurus online course: Get ready for the Junior Maths Challenge
For more information about how the Primary Maths Challenge fits in with other maths challenges, see this video:
Past Papers for the Primary Maths Challenge
All of the papers below are hosted at the Mathematical Association website.
Primary Maths Challenge Bonus Round Grade Boundaries
Year | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 2019 | 14 | 17 | 21 |
| 2018 | 15 | 18 | 21 |
| 2017 | ? | ? | ? |
| 2016 | 18 | 21 | 23 |
| 2015 | ? | ? | ? |
| 2014 | 19 | 22 | 24 |
| 2013 | 20 | 22 | 24 |
| 2012 | 19 | 21 | 24 |
| 2011 | 18 | 20 | 23 |
| 2010 | 20 | 22 | 24 |